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Mysteries of John
Chapter 11
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[Mysteries of John]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
John: Chapter 11
Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the
village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 And it was that
Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his
feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 The
sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he
whom thou lovest is sick. 4 But when Jesus heard it, he
said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of
God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby. 5 Now
Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When
therefore he heard that he was sick, he abode at that time
two days in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he
saith to the disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. 8 The
disciples say unto him, Rabbi, the Jews were but now
seeking to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? 9
Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If a
man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the
light of this world. 10 But if a man walk in the night, he
stumbleth, because the light is not in him. 11 These things
spake he: and after this he saith unto them, Our friend
Lazarus is fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awake him
out of sleep. 12 The disciples therefore said unto him,
Lord, if he is fallen asleep, he will recover. 13 Now Jesus
had spoken of his death: but they thought that he spake of
taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus therefore said unto
them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your
sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe;
nevertheless let us go unto him. 16 Thomas therefore, who
is called Didymus, said unto his fellow-disciples, Let us
also go, that we may die with him.
THE NAME Lazarus means "whom God helps." Metaphysically
interpreted, Lazarus represents the spiritual strength that
comes to man
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through his recognition of God as his supporting,
sustaining power. When man fails to recognize God as the
origin and support of his life, spiritual understanding
becomes weak in him and he sinks into materiality. To all
intents he is dead to the Truth of his own being. The
devotional soul, Mary, and the practical soul, Martha, are
sisters in this intellect, and although like all women they
have faith in the Spirit, they allow themselves to fall
under the thought of mortal law and believe in the reality
of death. The whole world is under the hypnotism of this
material belief, and it is making tombs for thousands every
day.
Out of a torpid condition of soul like that of Lazarus the
I AM (Jesus) calls forth the living Spirit of the Christ,
and reawakens by one word the consciousness of true
understanding in man and the quickened perception of his
faculties.
The name Thomas means "twin." Spiritually considered,
Thomas is understanding, whose twin is Matthew, the will.
Matthew, metaphysical twin of Thomas, is not so described
in the Scriptures; spiritually he is identified as the
co-ordinating faculty. In a well-balanced mind
understanding is followed by action.
Intellectual understanding assures us of the truth of our
sense impressions. It says, "Seeing is believing."
According to this dictum, if we should see written on a
blackboard, "Two plus two equals six," we should be called
on to accept as true a contradiction of the principles of
mathematics.
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17 So when Jesus came, he found that he [Lazarus] had been
in the tomb four days already. 18 Now Bethany was nigh unto
Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off; 19 and many of the
Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them
concerning their brother. 20 Martha therefore, when she
heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary
still sat in the house. 21 Martha therefore said unto
Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not
died. 22 And even now I know that, whatsoever thou shalt
ask of God, God will give thee. 23 Jesus saith unto her,
Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I
know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the
last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection,
and the life: he that believeth on me, though he die, yet
shall he live; 26 and whosoever liveth and believeth on me
shall never die. Believest thou this? 27 She saith unto
him, Yea, Lord; I have believed that thou art the Christ,
the Son of God, even he that cometh into the world. 28 And
when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary her
sister secretly, saying, The Teacher is here, and calleth
thee. 29 And she, when she heard it, arose quickly, and
went unto him. 30 (Now Jesus was not yet come into the
village, but was still in the place where Martha met him.)
31 The Jews then who were with her in the house, and were
consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly
and went out, followed her, supposing that she was going
unto the tomb to weep there. 32 Mary therefore, when she
came where Jesus was, and saw him, fell down at his feet,
saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother
had not died. 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and
the Jews also weeping who came with her, he groaned in the
spirit, and was troubled, 34 and said, Where have ye laid
him? They say unto him, Lord,
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come and see. 35 Jesus wept. 36 The Jews therefore said,
Behold how he loved him! 37 But some of them said, Could
not this man, who opened the eyes of him that was blind,
have caused that this man also should not die? 38 Jesus
therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now
it was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus saith,
Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was
dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time the body decayeth;
for he hath been dead four days. 40 Jesus saith unto her,
Said I not unto thee, that, if thou believedst, thou
shouldest see the glory of God? 41 So they took away the
stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I
thank thee that thou heardest me. 42 And I knew that thou
hearest me always: but because of the multitude that
standeth around I said it, that they may believe that thou
didst send me. 43 And when he had thus spoken, he cried
with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 He that was dead
came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; and his
face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them,
Loose him, and let him go.
Jesus represents man in the regeneration; that is, man in
the process of restoring his body to its natural condition,
where it will live right on perpetually without old age,
disease, or death. A necessary step in this process of body
restoration is the quickening of the sleeping Lazarus, who
represents the vitalizing energies in the subconsciousness
that feed the body and give it the life force that renews
its youth.
Jesus was at Bethany near Jerusalem. Metaphysically
Jerusalem represents a point in consciousness where the
spiritual energy of life is strong enough to vitalize
adjacent body substance (Bethany, "house
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of figs"). Jesus vitalized and baptized His soul and body
with spirit life when He denied the power of death over
Lazarus and affirmed the resurrecting life. We can do the
same thing when we do it in His name. Jesus' groaning and
weeping represent the seemingly insurmountable conditions
that are just before us.
We should ever remember that the youth we love so well
never dies; it is merely asleep in the subconscious--Jesus
said that Lazarus was not dead. People grow old because
they let the youth idea fall asleep. This idea is not dead
but is sleeping, and the understanding I AM (Jesus) goes to
awaken it. This awakening of youthful energies is necessary
to one in the regeneration. The body cannot be refined and
made, like its Creator, eternal before all the thoughts
necessary to its perpetuation are revived in it. Eternal
youth is one of these God-given ideas that man loves. Jesus
loved Lazarus.
The outer senses say that this vitalizing force of youth is
dead in man, that it has been dead for so long that it has
gone into dissolution, decay; but the keener knowledge of
the spiritual man proclaims, "Our friend Lazarus is fallen
asleep; but I . . . awake him out of sleep."
Bringing this sleeping life to outer consciousness is no
easy task. Jesus groaned in spirit and was troubled at the
prospect. The higher must enter into sympathy and love with
the lower to bring about the awakening--"Jesus wept." But
there must be more than sympathy and love--"Take ye away
the stone." The "stone" that holds the sleeping life in the
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tomb of matter in subconsciousness is the belief in the
permanency of present material laws. This "stone" must be
rolled away through faith. The man who wants the inner life
to spring forth must believe in the reality of omnipresent
spiritual life and must exercise his faith by invoking in
prayer the presence of the invisible but omnipresent God.
This reveals to consciousness the glory of Spirit, and the
soul has witness in itself of a power that it knew not.
In Spirit all things are fulfilled now. The moment a
concept enters the mind, the thing conceived is consummated
through the law that governs the action of ideas. The
inventor mentally sees his machine doing the work designed,
though he may be years short of making it do that work. The
spiritual-minded take advantage of this law and affirm the
completeness of this ideal, regardless of outer
appearances. This stimulates the energy in the thought
process and gives it power beyond estimate. This is the
step that Jesus took when He lifted up His eyes and said:
"Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me. And I knew
that thou hearest me always." The sleeping youth (Lazarus)
does not at once respond, but the prayer of thanksgiving
that is now in action gives the assurance that calls it at
the next step to the surface--"Lazarus, come forth."
Jesus "cried with a loud voice." This emphasizes the
necessity of working strenuously to project the inner life
to the surface. Beginners find it easy, under proper
instruction, to quicken the various life centers in the
body and co-ordinate them as a body
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battery that, under the direction of the will, throws a
current of energy to any desired place. A time comes when
the outer flesh must be vitalized with this inner life;
then arises the necessity of using the "loud voice" as the
propelling force. This is removing from the face the
"napkin," which represents conscious intelligence made
manifest.
Freedom from all trammels is necessary before the
imprisoned life can find its natural channel in the
constitution. "Loose him, and let him go" means unfettered
life expressing itself in joyous freedom of Spirit. The
flesh would take this vital flood and use it in the old
way, put new wine into old bottles, but Spirit guides those
who trust it, and leads them in righteous ways when they
listen patiently to the inner guide.
This raising of Lazarus is performed every day by those who
are putting on the new Christ body through the resurrected
Christ life.
45 Many therefore of the Jews, who came to Mary and beheld
that which he did, believed on him. 46 But some of them
went away to the Pharisees, and told them the things which
Jesus had done.
Interpreted within ourselves, there are always the thought
forces that believe the Truth and accept the so-called
miracles of the Christ, but there are also those that
question and resort to the Pharisees (the strict
intellectual phase of mind) for their stamp of approval.
47 The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees
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gathered a council, and said, What do we? for this man
doeth many signs. 48 If we let him thus alone, all men will
believe on him: and the Romans will come and take away both
our place and our nation. 49 But a certain one of them,
Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said unto them, Ye
know nothing at all, 50 nor do ye take account that it is
expedient for you that one man should die for the people,
and that the whole nation perish not. 51 Now this he said
not of himself: but being high priest that year, he
prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; 52 and not
for the nation only, but that he might also gather together
into one the children of God that are scattered abroad. 53
So from that day forth they took counsel that they might
put him to death.
In this instance the Pharisees represent a congregation of
intellectual thought people called together to counsel with
one another. The Romans symbolize the rule of the natural
man. The intellectual Pharisee is always jealous of his
religious rights and fearful of being robbed of his own. He
observes the forms of religion but neglects the spirit. He
does not understand the activities of the Christ Mind and
therefore fears it.
Another tendency of the intellect is to question and argue
back and forth. The high priest symbolizes the highest
spiritual thought force in authority that has an inkling of
Truth, and he perceives that the Christ will eventually
give His life for the redemption of all. The narrow
intellect, however, does not have the spiritual viewpoint
and seeks to destroy the saving spiritual power.
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54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews,
but departed thence into the country near to the
wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there he
tarried with the disciples. 55 Now the passover of the Jews
was at hand: and many went up to Jerusalem out of the
country before the passover, to purify themselves. 56 They
sought therefore for Jesus, and spake one with another, as
they stood in the temple, What think ye? That he will not
come to the feast? 57 Now the chief priests and the
Pharisees had given commandment, that, if any man knew
where he was, he should show it, that they might take him.
When a state of consciousness is not open to Truth, the
Christ (in this Scripture symbolized by Jesus) withdraws to
an inner sanctum (here symbolized by Ephraim, a name that
means "doubly fruitful"), where closer union with the great
divine source is found. Jesus therefore walked no more
openly among the Jews.
The Feast of the Passover represents a passing from a lower
state of consciousness to a higher. For the spiritual
passover the devout always seek the city of peace
(Jerusalem). No matter in what state of consciousness one
may be functioning there is always that within which craves
something better. The intellect, continuing to believe it
is to be the highest authority, would kill out the Christ.
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[Mysteries of John]
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